One small box
by Haloa
Summary: McCoy is acting strangely. His friends are worried.
1. Chapter 1

**One small box.**

Captain James is seated in the command chair since two hours now.

He has received new orders from Starfleet and the ship gets ready to leave for a new destination.

Around him, on the bridge, Lt Sulu and Ensign Chekov are at the helm. Lt Uhura is at her communication console and Commander Spock who has left the scientific console is at his right side. And …One minute! Where is Dr McCoy?

James T. Kirk sighs…

These last three weeks, McCoy's behavior has been really disturbing. At the beginning and for no reason, he shouted to everyone, his colleagues as his patients…Well, to tell the truth, this was not so unusual. But gradually, he became distant, silent, and sorrowful. He lost all concern for the current mission even when they found a new civilization with advanced knowledge in medicine!

His last meal with him was ten days ago. He asked him why he was so preoccupied but McCoy only sighed and with a sign of his hand and a fake smile, he dismissed the question. However, Jim repeated the question four days later and McCoy's sole answer was another question.

"Jim? Do you think that I am too old?"

"Um…That depends what you intend to do!"

Since that day, Leonard is pretending to be occupied by the crew's physicals. He spends his day in Sickbay, between his office and the examination room.

"Captain? …Captain Kirk?"

"Um? Mr. Sulu?" He asked, back to the present.

"I think Mr. Sulu is waiting for your order, Sir."

"Oh! Yes …At warp factor two!"

"Yes, Sir!"

One hour later, in the deep silent of the space, Kirk is hearing a conversation between the Asian and the Russian.

"…and then, I admitted having put on a lot of weight lately…Do you remember how he reacted the last time he saw me eating two slices of that chocolate cake…"

"Sure! He was furious. I remember he threatened to give you only lettuce for two months!"

"…and he lectured me about cardiovascular risks for hours!" The Russian added.

"Wow…Poor Pavel, I imagine that he made you cry again!"

"No…You're wrong! In fact, he remained calm. He only said that it had to happen one day!"

"And that's all?"

"…No shout, no threat, nothing! He only sighed and …Truly, I think he was not listening…He seemed to be somewhere else…"

James Kirk understands that the two guys are speaking of McCoy. The Russian had an appointment with him this morning…

McCoy ,not reacting to Chekov's confession?!

Jim is astonished. One glance at Spock and he knows he's also worried.

"Mr. Spock! You have the commands…I'll be in Sickbay." Jim stands up and leaves. This time, he must obtain answers.

In his office, Dr McCoy is sitting at his desk, one drink untouched in front of him, and one hand supporting his chin. He sighs, his eyes on a picture of him holding his baby daughter…This picture has been taken 23 years ago.

A knock at his door interrupts his thoughts.

"Come in!" He says.

"Hi, Bones. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine."

"Bones! Don 't lie to me. I know that you're not _fine_. Please, tell me what's happening. Did you receive bad news from home? …From Jo?"

"Jim …"McCoy sighs. "I did not know you were a telepath like our dear Vulcan friend!"

McCoy stands up and approaches the shelf in front of him. A small white box is placed next to Jo's Picture. Leonard hesitates then takes it in both his hands and gives it to Jim who looks at his friend with worry.

Two hours later, in the briefing room, Captain Kirk is listening his First Officer speaking about their next destination. A class M planet covered by water at 92 percent! All his officers of the alpha shift are present: Spock, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, the young Russian Chekov… and Bones.

"Thank you Mr. Spock, for your presentation. And now, I would like you to listen to Doctor McCoy…Bones, it is your turn!"

"Well…Thank you, Jim. I…I am sorry. I really have to apologize for my behavior. I was not myself these last weeks…" He sighs. "And I owe you an explanation."

Around the table, they are all silent, but their eyes are speaking for them, they are still his friends. Some smiles appear on their faces to reassure him.

"You can tell them, Bones…They will understand." Jim says.

"Yes, Jim… Gentlemen and Miss Uhura, in a few weeks, I will take a leave…"

Some of his friends are holding their breath.

"Because of that…"He adds while showing the small box hidden in his hands under the table. "Please, Lt Uhura, could you open it?"

Nyota Uhura gets up and takes the small box, her hands are shaking. She slowly opens it and then…

"Oh! …Leonard …That's …That's wonderful!" She says with tears streaming down her face. Straight away, the others get up and surround her, looking at the content of the small box.

Then, it was an explosion of joy! Uhura embraces Bones who blushes like a teenager…Chekov and Sulu are laughing. Jim joins the chief-engineer who congratulates Bones already smiling. Eventually they clasp all his hand in cacophony.

Jim is happy. As for his friend, tears are trying to find their way from a corner of his eyes.

Suddenly, one hand takes him by an elbow.

Spock is looking at Jim, with an impassive face but like often, his eyes betray him. The Vulcan raises an interrogative eyebrow while getting out the content of the box in his hand.

"Jim! Can you explain to me how two small white bootees can produce a so high emotional reaction? What is the reason behind this?"

Jim laughs.

"Spock!" Doctor McCoy calls. He has heard the Vulcan's questions.

"Spock…Ahem…the box was sent by my daughter three weeks ago. In this way she tells me that she's pregnant …and that I will be soon a grandfather…"

"Oh …if it is so… Congratulations Doctor McCoy!" Spock says with a small smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Spock."

"May I ask you one question?"

"Of course you may." McCoy happily says.

"Is it quite common to announce a pregnancy in this manner?"

"Well, this is quite common in my family!" He chuckles.

"Oh …This is an old tradition in so many families! And in a few weeks," Uhura explains with a warm smile, "Leonard will receive another box."

"And this time, the bootees will be pink or blue!" Scotty added!

"Oh my, I forgot it…"Bones sighs while all his friends laugh at him.

"Pink or blue?" The Vulcan asks.

"Yes. Pink if it's a girl. Blue if it's a boy…"

"That's illogical…"

They all laugh again.

**Later that evening…**

McCoy is surprised to find his Vulcan friend standing at his office's door.

"May I enter, Doctor?"

"Yes Spock, sit down, please!"

"Doctor, I wanted to ask you something this afternoon but not in front of everyone …"

"It's OK, Spock. You can ask me everything."

"Well, on Vulcan, a birth is a great event…of course we don't express ourselves like Humans do…"

"That's logical." McCoy grins.

"So, may I ask you why you reacted so badly?"

McCoy sighs and looks down, uneasy.

"I beg your pardon. It is a private affair. I should not ask…"

"No, Spock. Don't be sorry. Like I already said, I owe you an explanation. You know, when I opened the box, my heart has missed a beat! I understand now why my father shouted on me when…Anyway, I must admit that I have overreacted to the news. Spock, you probably don't know that I was married at 21 and that I was a father at 22! I was so young."

"I know you're 45 years old. And your daughter is 23. So, you should not be surprised to be grandfather at a young age…In fact, if we expected that your own daughter would give birth at the same age than you, I estimate the probability to be…"

"Spock! Please, don't give me statistics!" McCoy says, smiling sadly at his friend.

"You misunderstand…I am not afraid to be a young grandfather. I …I fears that my daughter repeat my mistake. Let me explain. My wife was 22 years old, like me. She had to stop his studies when she was 6 months pregnant. And she only went back to school when Johanna was 2 years old. Meanwhile, I was a student in medicine the day, and a Medical examiner's assistant the night. Did you know that we used to recreate crime scenes using interns? You understand now why I am as good surgeon!" McCoy laughs and regains his seriousness. "I spent my time between the hospital, the School of Medicine, my apartment, and the Coroner's office. I had a family to be fed and a rent to be paid! My wife was complaining about my absences and my daughter …well. I was married at 21 and I was divorced at 28!"

"Your parents did not help you?"

"Nope! …They …They disagreed with my choice to marry Jocelyn…Ahem…But that's another story…"

"Doctor, I'm sorry. I didn't know…"

"It's OK. I'm fine now."

"Doctor McCoy. I'm sure that your daughter will be fine. Because what I heard of her is that she is a lot like you: brave, determined, and hardworking. I can't believe your daughter will give up her studies easily."

"Oh I know, I know, she told me already. Did I tell you that she is beginning her first semester in surgery class?"

"I'm sure she will become as good doctor than his father…"

"Is it an intuition?" McCoy grins.

"The odds that…"

"Thank you, Spock…Oh and as I said to the others," he said menacingly, "Don't call me Grandpa, granddaddy or another nickname! I promise you to spend the most painful examination of your life if you do so!"

"I will do as you wish, Doctor McCoy."

_**The End… (Or the beginning?)**_

_**Haloa**_ : _Sorry for fault or grammatical mistakes. English is not my language. Please, tell me what you think about it :)_


	2. part 2

_Thank you for your reviews! They have encouraged me to write this ! So ,boy or girl ?_

**One small box.**** Part 2**

On the bridge, the entire crew is watching the main screen.

James T. Kirk arrived twenty minutes ago and is sitting now in the command chair. His hands are holding tight the armchair. Is the ship on Red alert? No.

Dr M'Benga and Miss Chapel are also present, like a few nurses.

Where is the injured man who needs their care? There is none…

So what are they waiting for?

"Lt Uhura! Will we be soon at range of transmissions from Earth?" Jim asks for the second time since he arrived on the bridge.

"In ten minutes, Sir. But I have to remind you that we are using a …"

"I know, Lieutenant."

"I already entered the coordinates…"She sighs. Her fingers are moving quickly over the communication console.

Spock is already standing up, beside his Captain and friend, both his hands behind his back. Of course, there is no sign of emotion on his face.

"Jim! Why are you so nervous?"

"Nervous? Well, in fact I'm excited. I wish to know if McCoy is fine, as his daughter and the baby…"

"Oh, really…This is why you're all excited as everyone here?" The Vulcan asks while raising one eyebrow.

"Mister Spock! We have no news of our dear Doctor McCoy since one month. His daughter has given birth to his first grandson or granddaughter! We are just happy to see him again, you know!" Scotty says.

"In fact, Mister Scott, I have heard that a great number of crewmembers have bet on the baby's gender! If that's not your case, gentlemen, I'm sorry I doubted your sincerity …"

"Mister Spock!" Scotty exclaims in an indignant tone, while blushing.

Luckily, the two helmsmen turn their back on Spock. Therefore, he can't see Sulu and Chekov exchanging worried and guilty looks.

"OK, Spock. You win. I'm also curious to see if it's a boy or a girl." Jim says smiling a little.

"Jim, must I remind you that the doctor has offered you to open the second box, despite the fact that his choice was to remain unaware of the baby's gender until he's born?"

"I know, Spock. For Bones, boy or girl, it doesn't matter. He only wants a healthy grandchild…And I have refused to look inside the box because I was afraid to blunder, as for Miss Uhura and Miss Chapel, am I right?"

"I'm sorry, Captain but you're wrong. Christine and I just wished the baby's gender to be a surprise!" Uhura says, with a wink at the nurse.

"Well, the suspense will end soon. But, how can you be sure he's at home waiting for our call?" The Captain asks.

"We decided the date and hour together, before he left the ship! He told me that his daughter and future son-in-law have chosen to live the first month of their baby on Earth with Leonard! He was so happy! They all live in his house in Atlanta."

"I guess he and his son-in-law get along well." Dr M'Benga says, smiling.

"Are you afraid that Leonard killed him because his daughter gets pregnant?" Scotty chuckles.

"I'm sure they get along…And remember that our dear Leonard is unable to kill an insect! I spoke with him before his departure. He's happy for his daughter and her mate. What I know is that he's two years older than Johanna. His name is Eric Daniels. He's also an intern in medicine. He has chosen to be a pediatrician, like Leonard's father! But they don't want to get married. So, Johanna will keep McCoy as family name. Their baby will have the two names." Jim explains to the others.

"I'm in contact with Doctor McCoy, Sir!" Uhura says.

"On the main screen, Lieutenant!" Jim says impatiently.

The happy face of McCoy appears on the main screen. In reaction, his contagious smile spreads across the bridge!

"Hi, Jim! Hi, Spock! Hi, everybody! I'm so happy to see you all! How are you?" Leonard says at the crew now gathered around his Captain.

"Hi Bones! I speak for everyone on this ship. We're very happy to hear from you but stop the greetings and please, stop this suspense! …" Jim exploded while leaving the command chair!

"Ok! Ok!" Leonard grins. "I will show you in one minute! Johanna is in the bathroom. The baby needs a new diaper! Johanna!" He calls while moving away from the screen. Twenty seconds later, he reappears, carrying in his arms a beautiful baby girl with a lovely pink dress with butterflies and two small pink bootees.

These details hold everyone's attention.

"It's a girl! It's a girl!" echoes on the bridge. Everyone is smiling, except Spock of course. And also Sulu who whispers in Pavel's ear, something like "you win!"

Spock is not smiling but his eyes are bright like stars, as Jim's who smiles at him.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your attention, please! I'm pleased to present my granddaughter, Miss Tabatha Eloise Temperance Daniels McCoy!"

In the next five minutes, everyone is commenting her first names and how cute the baby girl is.

The small baby girl has beautiful blue eyes and also brown hairs like her mother and grandfather.

"Congratulations Johanna!" Jim says to the young mother.

"Thank you Captain Kirk! …and thank you all for your gifts! Her room is already filled with teddy bears and toys! Oh and …Mister Spock! …How is that fluffy animal called?"

"It's a stuffed selhat …in small size." Spock explains while looking at Uhura and Jim chuckle.

"Like yours when you was a child, Spock?" Dr McCoy asks.

"In fact, mine was alive!" Spock answers. His pointed ears are greener now!

"Well…Thank you Spock! She's already fond of hers…"

"It's amusing." Christine Chapel says. "She has your blue eyes!"

"Miss Chapel. It's a known fact that most of human baby have blue eyes in the first three months …In fact, the odds are …" Spock begins to explain.

Suddenly, Tabatha lets out a screech with a deep frown on her face. Her two chubby fists are clenched!

"Well…It appears to me that she has inherited your lungs, Bones!" Jim laughs as everyone on the bridge.

"Right when Mr. Spock is about to speak of probabilities!" Scotty added.

Spock sighs and raises one eyebrow, not really upset to be behind the laughter.

"Captain Kirk, I'm sorry but our time is running out! The transmission is about to be cut!"

"Oh, yes…Sorry Bones but we are nearer the Neutral zone than we wish to be…and we are using a coded transmission…"

"It's OK, Jim. I knew it was for a short time. This was very nice to see all of you, my friends! It is time to leave you… I wish you a good trip! See you soon!"

"Bye Dr McCoy!", "Congratulations!" and others "good luck for the baby" are shouted before the screen show the dark space and stars again…

"See you soon …My friend." Jim sighs.

**The end.**


End file.
